If that awful joke didn't scare you off already, you may be a
zombie. On this All Hallows Eve, I
present a puzzle box which is “all hollow”, or as its maker, Phil Tomlinson
describes it, “always empty”. Phil
Tomlinson is a fine cabinet and puzzle box maker from Cincinnati Ohio, who
created the “Always Empty” box out of Black Walnut, Curly Maple, Bloodwood,
Rock Maple and Pawlownia woods. The box
has lovely inlaid arcs across the top, beautifully contrasting colors on the
top (?) and bottom (?), and fine edge details.
It has a satiny polished finish which makes it a pleasure to handle. The puzzle box has a surprising, unique first
step movement to open it, and a couple more surprises in store after that as
well. There is nothing inside the
box. Nothing. It’s … always empty. It’s quite frightening, especially on
Halloween. But don’t shout – that’s a
different box.

It's so full of beautiful details and fine finishes. But somehow it leaves you feeling so ... empty

To calm your shaking nerves, and especially if you really
are a zombie, I’ll make you the perfect drink.
This potent potion was intended to rejuvenate, reinvigorate and
reconstitute the bedraggled bon vivant in Prohibition era London who might have
had one too many the evening prior. Harry Craddock was a cocktail pioneer who left
the US and established himself as head bartender at the Savoy Hotel in London during American prohibition. There he
created the “Corpse Reviver #2”, which first appeared in print in his famous
“Savoy Cocktail Book” published in 1930, and has since been widely felt to be
the best of the “reviver” series. The drink
was intended as a “hair of the dog” remedy, and was best imbibed “before 11 am,
or whenever steam and energy are needed,” as Craddock explains.

The Corpse Reviver #2 by Harry Craddock

The combination of savory gin, Cointreau for
a little sweetness, Lillet for a mild bitterness, lemon juice for its tart
smack, and a dash of absinthe to pull it all together, make for a perfect
cocktail. The bitterness of Lillet, an
aromatized wine aperitif from France, was originally imparted by quinine from
cinchona bark (the flavor in tonic water and protector from malaria), back when
it was known as “Kina Lillet”. The
recipe was changed in 1986 to the much milder “Lillet Blanc” available today. The Italian aperitif Cocchi
Americano, with its bolder quinine flavor, is now considered to be the closest
modern substitute for the defunct Kina Lillet, and is often substituted to
recreate the classics. The Corpse
Reviver #2 is a sophisticated sipper which will put the color back in your
cheeks, or reanimate your misguided mad scientist grave digging adventure, Dr.
Frankenstein. Just beware of Harry
Craddock’s famous warning: “Four of these taken in swift succession will
quickly unrevive the corpse again.”
Happy haunting!

The glass is all full and the box is all empty ... a trick and a treat. Happy Halloween!